A rare, borderline miraculous thing happened inside
Congregation Rodeph Shalom: a Republican and a Democrat not only jointly
identified a political problem, but also agreed upon a set of solutions. Perhaps
the true miracle would be if any of their ideas are ever adopted by Congress.

Former U.S. Rep. Tom Davis (R-Virginia) and Martin Frost
(D-Texas) – former political adversaries – are co-authors of the recently
released work “The Partisan Divide: Congress in Crisis.” The two former pols
addressed an audience of roughly 50 people at the synagogue in a November 8
program sponsored by JSPAN. (A number of organizations and synagogues served as
community partners in promoting the event.)

They presented a compelling case that the two parties are
being driven further and further apart. Today’s high levels of partisanship,
they argued, make it exceedingly difficult for Congress to complete its routine
work - such as raising the debt ceiling and passing a budget - let alone reach
meaningful compromise on pressing issues such as immigration reform. Hinted at,
but never stated outright, was the fear that - if left unchecked - partisanship
might threaten to tear the fabric of constitutional democracy.

In his introduction of the speaker, author and historian
Dwight David Eisenhower II – grandson of President Eisenhower and son-in-law of
President Nixon – called it “the number one constitutional and political issue
facing our country today. Call it political dysfunction, call it
hyperpartisianship, call it the breakdown of Congress.”

The program was the first part of a two part series called
“American Democracy Challenged.” On November 22, JSPAN is hosting another
program at Rodeph Shalom focusing on gerrymandering. Speakers will include
State Sen. Mike Folmer (R-Lebanon) and State Sen. Daylin Leach (D- Upper
Merion.) The Philadelphia event came a week into the Speakership of U.S. Rep.
Pau Ryan (R-Wis.) who is attempting to bring order to an unruly Republican
caucus, and in the midst of an unruly presidential campaign that is defying
expectations.

In his presentation, Davis attributed polarization and
gridlock to three factors that have largely emerged over the past two decades:
unfair redistricting, polarized media and out-of-control political financing.

“Although we have many philosophical differences, in terms of
analyzing what went wrong, we share many of the same observations,” said Davis,
referring to himself and Frost. “Basically, the middle has gone away.”

Davis, who served in Congress from 1994 to 2008, noted that
in most Congressional districts, “basically the only election that counts is
the primary. The primary is what the members orient their time, rhetoric and
voting records to. Primary voters represent an overly narrow slice of the
electoral pie. They don’t reward compromise. They tend to punish it.”

Davis, who chaired the National Republican Congressional
Campaign Committee from 1998 to 2002, argued that increasingly sophisticated
data analytics have allowed state legislatures to make districts safer and less
competitive than ever before. He cited Pennsylvania’s meandering 7th
Congressional District – held by Republican Pat Meehan – as an egregious
example of a gerrymandered district. Davis also took aim at a popular target,
partisan broadcast media and websites, claiming they proliferate a culture in
which talking to the opposition is virtually unheard of. Then there is the series of events, from the
passage of the McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill in 2002 to the 2010 U.S.
Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United,
that has allowed wealthy individuals, unions and privately held corporations to
spend unlimited amounts of money to fund outside groups unconnected to candidates
or political parties.

“The point in all this is that voters behave as if it were a
parliamentary system, which it is not,” Davis said. “Instead of being the
minority party, you are now the opposition party.”

Frost – only the second Jewish Congressman in the history of
the Lone Star State – presented a series of recommendations that the two have
put forth in their book. Chief among them is the idea that Congress might
mandate that non-partisan commissions, rather than state legislatures, control
the Congressional redistricting process. The goal would be to increase the number of
competitive races and force candidates to pay attention to centrist voters who
value pragmatism and compromise.

“We have a system now, where 80 percent of Congressional districts
are safe districts,” Frost said.

He also suggested several changes to current campaign finance
laws that would require all groups that are spending money on elections to
report that spending to the Federal Election Commission. He also suggested that
all Congressional primaries nationwide be held on the same date, to increase
interest in House races and voter turnout. A higher turnout, Frost argued, would curb the
influence of fringe groups.

Following the formal presentation, the two former Congressmen
took a series of pointed questions from the audience. This reporter pointed out
that, in the years following World War II, the parties were not necessarily
aligned on ideological grounds and it was in fact a bipartisan alliance that
for years blocked any advancement on the civil rights agenda. Is it such a bad thing for voters to know
what parties stand for and base their vote upon it?

“There is nothing wrong with good, solid parties,” responded
Davis. “The real problem today is that the fastest growing group of any
electorate is independents. In some states, they are prohibited from
participating in primaries, which is the only election that counts. The reality
is, you have a system where independent voters are excluded from the process. It
de-centers American politics.”

In his response, Frost cited Master of the Senate, the third volume in Robert Caro’s series
about Lyndon Johnson. The book describes in great detail how LBJ, as Senate majority
leader, wheeled and dealed with members of both parties to pass the first Federal
Civil Rights legislation since Reconstruction. In the end, he managed to garner
more Republican votes than Democratic votes.

“If Lyndon Johnson were in power today, could he do that?”
said Frost. “Even as capable as he was, the answer is probably no, because the
parties would not cooperate - even on something as important as civil rights.”